Verdict
Noble has a reputation for delivering earbuds that not only look different, but sound brilliant too, and the Fokus Amadeus do nothing to challenge that. These are the most accessible buds yet from the plucky firm, with ANC included for the first time, and if you are out to buy from Noble, they’re your best bet. Options from the likes of Sony and Bose are more practical, with water resistance and more accomplished noise cancellation, but for pure sonic performance you need look no further
-
Striking design
-
Detailed, accessible sound
-
Premium feel
-
No waterproofing
-
Middling ANC
-
Expensive
Key Features
-
Review Price:
£319
-
In-ear
TWS buds with no stalks that sit in-ear
-
Design
A shocking signature red
-
Battery
Up to 42 hours with charging case
Introduction
It will come as no small surprise to anyone that the best way to make yourself seen in a crowded space is to stand out, to be loud, to be a bit different.
Noble Audio, a small American outlet, learned that long ago, successfully carving out a distinctive identity for itself as a purveyor of high end audio experiences, driven in no small part by the tuning of its ‘Wizard’ founder Dr John Moulton.
In the past few years it has released a slew of options skewed entirely at the high end, with punchy and pugnacious styling and no small amount of swagger. In a world dominated by black and white in-ear stalks and dots, its offerings stand out with bold reds, greens and more.
And the Amadeus skew heavily to that design formula, with a rich red colourway as standard and a premium metal body making up the rest – but there’s of course more to a set of earbuds than build.
Noble being well aware of that, we can see the usual acoustic improvements – better drivers, an improved chipset – but nothing that’s there to excite, to set the blood racing. It’s a design philosophy as old as time, small changes year on year, to add to a bigger whole in the long term.
Times change however, and making iterative improvements doesn’t always guarantee success, especially when the competition has become so consistently competent.
The likes of Apple, Sony and Bose haven’t stood still, and neither has the specialist market, and given the price that Noble commands, the onus now more than ever is to prove that its products are indeed worth the premium charged.
So do the Fokus Amadeus do enough to earn a place in your pocket and ears?
Price
The Noble Fokus Amadeus are available now directly from Noble for $320 / £319.99, as well as other UK-based retailers such as Hifonix for £319.99.
Design
- Striking red design
- Isn’t waterproofed
Establishing a design language that has some longevity is no mean feat. Many try to stand out, to make something that tells a story while also being visually interesting, but most often that results in various shades of black.
Which isn’t necessarily a criticism, just an observation, design in wireless audio tends towards the conservative, and Noble exists as a karmic opposite of that. Where the likes of Sony go for minimalism, Noble goes for postbox red with sparkly veins, almost like the surface of an electric guitar from a hair metal band.
That is reflected in the bold red of the case, itself fully constructed from metal. Noble has claimed that the design is meant to evoke the crimson coat tails of Mozart, for us normies it is just a pleasant, bold colour. In the ear, they definitely stand out.
What’s more, they have quite a snug fit, meaning that they passively cancel out quite a lot of noise. They don’t do quite a good enough job that you’ll be able to tune out completely, but they do however block out a fair amount of background hum.
Getting them in is simple enough, and I found that they were fairly steady in the ear. Whether they would stand up to a jog is another matter, they have no listed IP rating. This means that they aren’t water or dust-proof, these are ones for the house or a (dry) commute, which for some will rule them out entirely.
A plus however is that they are comfortable to wear for long periods. I have quite sensitive ears generally which are easily irritated, however the Amadeus didn’t cause the same issue for me.
There’s also multi-point Bluetooth, making it easy to swap between multiple devices should you so wish.
So these are nicely fitted, comfortable buds that look great, but which have no degree of ruggedness in-built. This might not be a problem for the intended audience of sonic purists, so if you need buds to work out with they might not be the best option.
Battery Life
- Offers average battery life performance
- Has a fast charging case
There’s nary a set of TWS earbuds on the market today with bad battery life and the Noble Fokus Amadeus do nothing to buck that trend thankfully.
The buds last for around 8 hours with ANC on, which is the quoted life, and a good showing overall. With the case, this can theoretically be extended to 42 hours, however that didn’t quite prove to be the case for me, I found it needed to be charged every three days or so with normal usage.
There’s fast charging, which is nice to have, with 15 minutes of time plugged in supposedly equating to two hours of listening time. Whether that proves to be the case for you will depend on a number of factors, however I found in a pinch that I could eke out at least an extra hour of use with just only a little time by the wall, a very pleasant inclusion indeed.
Lastly, there’s no wireless charging, as might be expected given the bottom of the case is metal, however it is a shame given the price point.
Noise Cancellation
- The first TWS buds from Noble with ANC included
- Offers decent performance but doesn’t challenge the best
Over the years since the introduction of the first set of AirPods and the rise of TWS, noise cancellation has gone from being a pleasant extra to being an essential and a reason to buy in itself.
Brands such as Bose use it as a selling point, showing how much more their products can block out than the competition. For Noble the picture is a little different, this is their first set of buds with ANC included. Previously they relied fully on passive noise cancellation through the fit, which is still present here, but now there’s a little extra at play.
To their credit, it is quite effective. It was able to block out a lot of the annoying noises in a supermarket and to dull the roar of traffic from a nearby road, but it can’t manage much more than that.
These aren’t the buds that will make your flight a noise-free dream, nor will they cancel out the drone of snoring from another room, but for many everyday use cases they are quite enough.
Sound Quality
- Terrific, expansive soundstage
- Detailed yet accessible listen
Where Noble hasn’t quite tried to set the world alight with noise-cancellation, it has more than attempted to make up with a focus on sound quality above nearly everything else.
Starting with the tech, Noble has used drivers with a 8.3mm custom triple-layer diaphragm and offer SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive and LDAC codec support, a strong cocktail.
All of that translates into a lot of promise, which is mostly realised. I’m pleased to say that these are some of the most pleasant sonic performers that I’ve come across in quite a while.
To begin, the soundstage is open and fully realised. You don’t get quite the same level of performance as a dedicated pair of headphones might, but that’s down to size and physics. For a set of in-ear earbuds, they achieve exceptional separation and detail, which works well for complex orchestral pieces, giving a real sense of place and presence to each section.
Bass, as might be expected from Noble, is tuned with a real warmth and energy, serving dance and punk tracks very well. It’s unfortunate then that the buds don’t have any kind of weatherproofing, as they have a sound profile that works well for ‘exercise’ music.
Unsurprisingly, treble too is a delight, bright and clear, hammering home the impression of the Amadeus as a highly accomplished set of generalist buds. There’s not a genre that doesn’t work to their strengths, the only factor that lets down their utility is the lack of ruggedness in their design.
There might be more premium buds in Noble’s own line up, and options from other manufacturers that might be a better fit for specific devices (i.e. AirPods for iPhones), however for the price and for most people these are an accomplished set of buds. Beyond this point, the differences in quality are mostly academic and highly subjective.
Should you buy it?
The Noble Fokus Amadeus are a well-priced, attractively designed and sonically excellent set of earbuds that deliver.
Though they’re comfortable to wear, the Amadeus have no listed IP rating or weatherproofing, meaning they aren’t built to withstand the elements.
Final Thoughts
Noble has hit on a winning formula with its earbuds in recent years, establishing a reputation for great sound quality and winning design. Where it has faltered is in appealing to the mass market, in part due to the absence of ANC.
The Fokus Amadeus sport said active noise cancellation at a price which (for Noble) won’t raise eyebrows. And they definitely stand apart from the crowd with their quirky red styling and premium sound profile, but have decided drawbacks.
Number one among these is the absence of any sort of waterproofing, these aren’t buds for exercise sure enough, but commuters might be put off. Then there’s the ANC itself, which is a plus through its mere presence, however the competition has stolen a march here and offers much better performance on average.
So we have the classic Noble calculation once again – is excellent sound enough to carry through? Whether it is enough will be up to you to decide, if you are in the game for the listening experience alone then these are the buds for you, however if you are more interested in quality of life features, you’ll likely want to look elsewhere.
How We Test
We test every pair of headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly.
We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Tested for several days
- Tested with real world use
Full Specs
| Noble Fokus Amadeus Review | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Noble Audio |
| IP rating | No |
| Battery Hours | 8 |
| Fast Charging | Yes |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| Audio Resolution | SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, LDAC |
| Driver (s) | 8.3mm custom triple-layer diaphragm |
| Noise Cancellation? | Yes |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Colours | Black/Red |
| Frequency Range | 20 20000 – Hz |
| Headphone Type | True Wireless |
| Sensitivity | 113 dB |
| UK RRP | £319 |
| USA RRP | $320 |
